Wednesday Open Thread [2.27.13]
Former Lt. Governor Gene Bookhammer (R) has died, at the age of 94. Our sympathy to his family and friends. Lt. Governor Bookhammer served under two different Governors from 1969 until 1977. He served under Republican Gov. Russell Peterson (who, contrary to the News Journal article’s revisionist history, was not a Democrat, despite his liberal policies) during his first term and Democratic Gov. Sherman Tribbitt during his second. Bookhammer and Peterson harken back to a time in the history of our state Republican Party where it was possible to be a moderate or even a liberal. It also harkens back to a time when the Governor and Lt. Governor’s electoral fortunes were not necessarily tied together. In my memory, I think the 1992 election was the time I recall seeing joint Gov-Lt. Gov. signs (i.e. Carper-Minner). But I’m a relative young’n.
Stu Rothenberg on whether President Obama can put the House in play next year:
“It’s far too early to know whether Democrats will have some, or even any, chance to win back the House next year; candidate recruitment has just begun, the number of retirements (and open seats) is uncertain and the president’s popularity more than 20 months from now is an open question. But we do know that history, as The New York Times’ Nate Silver pointed out in a column last November, suggests that Democrats will have a very tough road to 218 seats.”
“Going back to the election of 1862, the only time the president’s party gained as many as 10 seats was, well, never. Even in 1934, the best showing by the president’s party in House elections since the Civil War, the president’s party gained only nine seats.”
Michigan state Sen. Tom Casperson (R) told a radio show he’s not sure where Obama was born, according to Deadline Detroit. This necessarily means Casperson is illiterate.
Now that budget sequestration seems inevitable, the remaining question is, who gets hurt? The White House and Democrats seem supremely confident that the public will cast blame on congressional Republicans. To be sure, the GOP, in its weakened condition, is blamed for virtually everything short of the weather and the flu…
Having said that, assuming that sequestration kicks in, with $85 billion in mandatory budget cuts pretty much across the board–exempting only Social Security, Medicaid, and, to a lesser extent, Medicare, and disproportionately hitting defense–many Americans will begin to feel some inconvenience after a few days, and a few will feel real pain. It’s only when, or if, it persists for a week or more and affects more people that impatience and annoyance will turn into anger, then rage. At that point, it becomes difficult to know whether voters will still vent these emotions exclusively at Republicans.
Ask yourselves this: which side is literally freaking out as we speak? Is it the President and the Democrats in Congress, or is it the Republicans? The side that is freaking out is the side that knows it will be blamed. And the side that is freaking out is the Republicans.
Yesterday evening, the House GOP caved on passing the Violence Against Women Act. The House bill that still discriminates against certain groups goes to the House floor, but if (when) it fails to pass, the Senate bill gets an up or down vote. Where it will pass with the help of Democrats. Another pin in the Hastert Rule voodoo doll.
In other GOP news — a NH state rep tells a panel considering increased criminal penalties for domestic violence:
Yikes.
“Some people could make the argument that a lot of people like being in abusive relationships,” Congressional Democrats for example.
Well, there’s a point.
I cannot say that I open every email the D’s send me for fundraising. I’d have to be catheterized. But I opened this morning’s OFA email on the sequester. They’re asking for stories. I sent one, I hope everyone else does, too. My sister, who is retired Navy, working for the Pentagon, has already been furloughed. She’s a translator. Heaven forfend we be able to COMMUNICATE with someone. My story dealt with the WIC program, which will lose 600,000 low income pregnant and parenting women from the rolls, under the sequester.
here’s a link. http://www.barackobama.com/stories/?source=tweet_btn
Carper’s latest FB post:
We currently have more than 844,000 veterans unemployed in the United States. It is a national embarrassment that we have not been able to provide good paying jobs to our returning heroes. I am proud to be a member of the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus, which works to encourage employers to hire veterans.
Translation:
I’m proud to be embarrassed that the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus isn’t doing its job very well.
Needless to say, the Cape Gazette had the story on Bookie’s passing two days before the News-Journal scribbled its single paragraph.
http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/p/former-lt-gov-gene-bookhammer-dies-at-age-94/967588
Responding to a lawsuit, Anheuser-Busch wants you to know that their beer tastes like water *on purpose*.
Cassandra, that’s beyond stupid. You don’t bring a lawsuit before testing a few samples, just because you listened to a few ex-forklift drivers.
Hot R on R action:
La Tourette, who retired from Congress in January and hopes his organization will be a key factor in 2014 Republican efforts, said in a statement, “The Club for Growth is a cancer that has attached itself to the Republican Party.” LaTourette added, “The Club repeatedly backs candidates who espouse bizarre views on rape, incest, immigrants and even witchcraft. … The left wants to caricature the Republican Party as out-of-touch and extremist and the Club spends millions to help them do this.”
Bonus points for a Christine O slam.
Here’s another great media story. http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/00-13092-north-carolina-daily-retracts-public-information-request-editor-resigns-latest-storm-o?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kcblogen+%28Journalism+in+the+Americas%29